Peddlers Irk Stores In Harlem

Published: September 24, 1990

On a recent afternoon, vendors lined several blocks of West 125th Street practically elbow to elbow, standing by tables or crouching by blankets displaying their goods, which ranged from imitation Louis Vuitton bags to tapes of Malcolm X speeches.

Between Lenox and St. Nicholas Avenues, the bow-tied members of the Nation of Islam hawked their ''new dream bean supreme'' pies, alongside Rastafarians and Yorubas in flowing robes selling religious tracts and red, black and green pendants of Africa. Sweet smoke from incense sticks mingled with the smell of grilled chicken, and rap and reggae pounded from boomboxes.

In the last four months, 125th Street has become an unofficial outdoor African-American marketplace, even though zoning laws ban peddling on much of the street. According to the Uptown Chamber of Commerce, the number of peddlers on 125th Street has jumped at least 50 percent from last year, and long-time residents say they have not seen the street so crowded in a decade.

A Racial Element

But all this free enterprise has ignited a war for supremacy on the street: Shopkeepers want the street vendors ousted from in front of their stores. And because most of the shopkeepers are white or Korean and most of the street vendors are black, there is also a racial element to the conflict.

The shopkeepers, who have recently demanded that city officials take action, say the sidewalk vendors are a safety hazard because they impede pedestrian traffic, sometimes forcing people to walk in the street. They complain of receiving summonses at least once a week for trash on their sidewalks that was left by the vendors.

Most important, shopkeepers say, the vendors steal their customers -sometimes selling the same goods at lower prices - while not paying taxes or making any contribution to the street's upkeep.

The vendors, many of whom are recent immigrants from West Africa, insist that they are simply trying to earn an honest living. They describe the shopkeepers as ''outsiders'' who profit from Harlem's dollars, and say that impoverished peddlers, who cannot afford store rents, are entitled to do business in their own community.

An Old Dispute

''What I'm seeing here is a culture clash,'' said Abiony X, a vendor who deals in voodoo dolls and African religious items. ''It's white culture trying to close off black culture. There's a big takeover and everyone expects the black people to accommodate to their way.''

The dispute is not a new one for 125th Street. For decades, Harlem residents have clashed with white-owned businesses over a range of issues, including pricing of goods and hiring practices at stores.

Only 12 years ago, street vendors and shopkeepers were locked in another argument over sidewalk sales. At the time, vendors were granted one block on Lenox Avenue between 125th and 126th Streets. The merchants later helped to establish a building - Mart 125 - that would provide small stalls for the vendors.

But few peddlers are willing to pay the rents in Mart 125, which opened three years ago, and there is no longer enough room for street vendors on the block between 125th and 126th. The rents are between $300 and $750 a month, according to merchants in the mart.

Street Called 'Filthy'

After a three-year refurbishing project on 125th Street, including new pavement, street lights, water mains and trees, the merchants are determined to improve the street's image as a respectable shopping center.

''There's no way that there can be vendors,'' said James H. Dowdy, a black man who is chairman of the 125th Street Local Community Development Corporation, a neighborhood business association that includes black, white and Korean merchants. ''The street is brand new and it's already filthy.''

Last month, City Coucilwoman C. Virginia Fields, who represents part of Harlem, asked the Department of Consumer Affairs and the police to enforce the ban on street peddlers. After officials distributed fliers warning of impending action, dozens of angry vendors marched to the 28th Precinct station house and to the Adam Clayton Powell State Office Building.

They distributed leaflets accusing the city and Korean merchants, who Mr. Dowdy said make up about 20 percent of those on 125th Street, of ''waging war against black street vendors'' and called for blacks to ''stay out of the stores.''

According to the police, enforcing street peddling laws is not a top priority for officers occupied with more serious crimes. ''If you get a call about someone dealing crack or someone selling pillows, which do you think is more important?'' asked Deputy Inspector James Raber, the commander of the 28th Precinct.

To Move or Not

In community meetings led by Ms. Fields, some have suggested that street vendors be permitted to sell on 124th or 126th Streets or in the courtyard in front of the state office building. But some vendors said that they were not sure they wanted to move from 125th Street.

''Moving us isn't going to work,'' said Eugene Harris, a 45-year-old peddler who sells colognes with names like Passion, Peril and Discretion. Mr. Harris said he had been jailed several times for peddling without a license.

''Fellows are going to take their chances because it's a way to earn a living,'' he said. ''You've got traffic out here. Why go somewhere else?''

Photo: According to the Uptown Chamber of Commerce, the number of vendors on 125th Street in Harlem has jumped at least 50 percent from last year and shopkeepers want them off the streets. These vendors are between Adam Clayton Powell Jr. and Frederick Douglass Boulevards. (Don Hogan Charles/The New York Times)